One of These Things is Not Like the Other

There has been a lot of talk recently surrounding conservative women and feminism, or at least feminist ideals. Laura bush came out and said that she is pro-choice and supports same-sex marriage. Then, of course, Sarah Palin has once again announced that she is a feminist.

Of course this has caused all sorts of uproar within the feminist community, as everyone tries to set the record straight that Sarah Palin is not a feminist. I think this article from AlterNet says it best.

There is a difference between these two women, sure they are both conservative, but Laura Bush is supporting women’s rights. Sarah Palin on the other hand is using her own claim to feminism to further limit women’s rights. This has nothing to do with her being conservative, this is her being anti-woman.

That being said, so much of the attention has been focused on trying to negate Sarah Palin’s claim. Personally, I get kind of sick of all the negativity. Perhaps instead, we could focus more on what feminism is and has done, what feminism still is trying to do. Getting caught up in all this negativity doesn’t help or accomplish anything. In fact, it is more likely to distract us from working on things on which we can make real progress.

All of the above being said….Sarah Palin: please don’t talk the feminist talk if you can’t (or won’t) walk the feminist walk.